Lachlan Kennedy delivers more sub-10 fireworks after end to Jessica Hull’s historic triple title campaign post-crash
Updated ,first published
As Easter Spectacular fireworks exploded in the background, sprint king Lachlan Kennedy used his own pyrotechnics to claim the 100m title with a sub-10-second run to officially claim the title of Australia’s fastest man in Sydney on Saturday.
Just 24 hours after running 9.96 seconds in the heats – the first time an Australian had broken 10 seconds on home soil – Kennedy proved it was no fluke by running the same time in the final.
He beat Josh Azzopardi and Rohan Browning to win his first national title and avenge his shock loss to Browning in the 100 meters at the Australian nationals in Perth last year.
Ignoring the loud fireworks that went off during the silent start, Kennedy burst out of the blocks and was never challenged. It was the same time and equal PB as the night before, but it was a more impressive performance given Kennedy had competed in the semi-final earlier in the night (10.06 seconds) and the conditions were much cooler.
“I try to block out all the noise and go in; fireworks are definitely something different,” Kennedy said.
“I needed to win. I needed to be a national champion, I needed to say I got it. It’s a huge relief to finally be able to do it in front of a great crowd and against great opponents.”
Kennedy now has four of the five fastest races ever run by an Australian, but said he believed he was no closer to a perfect race and this year he was aiming to not only break Patrick Johnson’s national record of 9.93 seconds but also join the elite club of athletes who have run 9.8 seconds.
“There’s definitely more in the tank,” he said. “I was a little gassy after the race, but the fact that I was able to get out in that time period shows that I still have a lot to work on. The sky’s the limit.”
“I have no idea how fast it is. I want to try to get to 9.8 this year and I definitely want to break the Australian record. We’ll see.”
The only dampener for fans was when Kennedy said he could not guarantee he would duel Gout Gout after three intense 100m runs in the 200m on Sunday afternoon. He said he would see how he would stand up before the 200m warm-up races in the morning.
“I can’t give you a 100 percent yes or no; I don’t want to promise anything and then not deliver,” he said. “We’ll wait and see, see how my body gets back on its feet and listen to the experts, physiotherapists and other things.”
Athletics Australia, who put Kennedy and Gout on promotional posters, are hoping the 100m champion performs well, especially as there is doubt as to whether superstar Jess Hull will run on Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, Hull’s bid to become the first Australian woman to win national titles in the 800m, 1500m and 5000m ended when the Olympic silver medalist withdrew from the 800m due to pain.
Hull was due to compete in the 800m heats on Saturday night but informed officials that he would not race after suffering a dramatic fall in the final stages of Friday night’s 1500m final.
While the 29-year-old was leading the field with 60 meters to go, her rival Claudia Hollingsworth tried to derail behind her and broke Hull’s legs as she fell hard onto the track.
Hollingsworth went first and was later disqualified, but the 20-year-old Victorian athlete appealed and an independent panel reinstated him as the 1500 meters national champion on Saturday.
Athletics Australia said the request to reschedule the race was rejected but did not specify who made the request. Following reports that Hull had withdrawn from the championships altogether, the AA said it was still hoped he would run the 5000m on Sunday.
Speaking after winning the 800-meter race, Hollingsworth, who bears a huge nail scar on his left shin, said he had gone through an “up and down” 24 hours but believed the right decision had been made by the appeals panel.
“You never like to see any athlete lose, but it was a fair race,” Hollingsworth said.
“Clearly [I] I felt bad about what happened and I hope he’s okay. “I think we all raced fairly and it was just a challenge in the race.”
“There’s no bad blood on my end and I’m sure it’s not coming from him either. We have a lot of respect for each other and I’m definitely willing to reach out and make sure he’s okay. We’re both mature athletes and we both want the best for each other. So I really hope to see him at the next meet and compete really well against each other again.”
Hull had set himself an ambitious target of winning three races at this meet after entering the 800m, 1500m and 5000m.
That was dropped on Friday, but Hull still had a good chance of completing a career grand slam in the same trio of races and only needed to win the 800m this year to claim multiple titles in the 1500m and 5000m in previous years. No Australian woman has achieved this feat.
His selection for Hull’s Commonwealth Games team in the 1500m will now have to wait. Hollingsworth’s win (and previous qualifying time) will likely see him among the group of automatic selections for said team come Sunday afternoon.
Hull’s qualifying time is A but will they have to wait for the selectors to name the remaining athletes using optional selections at a later stage? Given his world-class results over the last three years, it is inconceivable that Hull would not be selected for a place in the 1500 metres. But the choice in the 800m may not be that simple.
Leading men’s 800 meters runner Peyton Craig, an Olympic semi-finalist in 2024, also faces an uphill battle to make the Commonwealth Games team, his brain weakening after his heat saw him slow down at the line and miss the final.
In other results, Nina Kennedy won the pole vault with 4.65 m, while Mackenzie Little (58.87 m) in the javelin and Roman Anastasios won the men’s high jump with 2.20 m.
Power couple Reece Holder and Ellie Beer claimed the national title in the 400m while Queensland’s Georgia Harris won the women’s 100m in 11.5 seconds.
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Iain Payten is senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
